- So, I just wanna start off
talking about your life.
You were separated from your parents
when you were a young teen, when you were 14.
They were sent to Colombia.
You had American citizenship.
They weren't able to obtain it.
What was it like navigating the world
at that young of an age, away from your family?
- It was tough.
I think about it like this, when you have your parents
you have this support so that when you're making decisions,
you're making it alongside someone.
Someone is helping you, giving you advice.
This is what we always say, this is what we always do,
these are our values.
And so, when a child is separated from their parents,
that child has to make
all of those decisions for themselves.
And that's what I went through.
I had to make all of those decisions for myself.
And so, it was hard to focus on my education,
some of the things that, when you're growing up,
that these are the things that
are going to inform the rest of your life.
Your education is so important.
So, these things I couldn't focus on.
Everything weighed so much.
Every day there was so much at stake.
So like, crossing the street, there was so much at stake.
Going over someone's house, so much at stake.
Those things give you a lot of anxiety.
It's just that blueprint
for decision making goes underdeveloped.
And so that has affected me greatly, even today.
- In addition to being a very successful actress
you're also an immigration advocate.
How has your personal story
shaped your work as an advocate?
- I gotta say that before
sharing my story, before telling my truth, I was lost.
Even though I had achieved some sort of success
in my choice of work, in my line of work
I wasn't going to be able to sustain that
unless I faced myself and my history and who I was.
And so, when I did that
so many doors starting opening for me.
My mind expanded.
My heart expanded.
And I was, and here I am sharing with you
all of the possibilities that can happen in your life.
I knew that once I shared my story
it was going to be difficult because
so many people can see, can make assumptions
on who you are and only you know those thing, right?
But then you start connecting with others
who are also experiencing those things.
And it's very liberating.
And so everyday--
- Talk about that piece of finding or forming
community in your life, around the work you do.
- Well, I would be nothing without my community.
I guess because I was separated from my parents
at such a young age I could have gone in,
there were two directions for me to go on.
And I decided to ask for help.
And I think that's one thing growing up like I did
or if you're a kid who grew up without parents
whether through incarceration or deportation,
you learn to fend for yourself.
And you begin to think that you have to do
everything by yourself and you cannot ask for help.
And I think that's sort of a secret that we don't know is
that asking for help is a key to success.
And I was able to reach out to my community
in a variety of way: reaching out to my teachers,
taking advantage of every program that was available.
And just asking my neighbors.
Just going up to them and saying listen,
this is my reality, this is what I'm living,
can you help me?
And here I am because I have reached out for help.
And I know that my community
is a key component of that.
- But it sounds like there was some fear
around that decision to reach out.
Whether it was in the shaping of community
or in asking for help.
What was at the root of that fear?
- You start thinking, well, first,
there's obviously trust issues.
You don't know, when your world is shattered around you
in a way where your parents are taken,
this is the only home you know,
this is the only security you know.
Everything else just seems like
it's sort of setting up for failure as well.
With all of that happening you start doubting yourself
and who you are in this world.
So, you start thinking you're not enough,
you're not smart enough and you're ashamed
of who you are in your experience.
So, when you no longer are ashamed,
when you reach out to people
and they let you know that things are okay,
that your experience shapes you
and that there is power from your experience,
then things can change.
But you definitely have that fear of people
finding out that you're not enough,
that people finding out that your life went awry.
But when you start sharing who you are
and allow others to share their lives
and their stories, then you can find common ground.
- I think what you're hitting on is
really the power in sharing our personal experiences
because, so often, it's those experiences
that allow us to find connection with one another.
Whether it is being separated from family members
or this fear that you don't have a place at the table.
Or just the learning how to reach out
and ask for help.
Those are common experiences but so often
when we talk about these various issues we all face
they're often defined by the differences between us.
But it sounds like you found power
in sharing your story.
- Yes, and I continue to find power every day.
I mean, when I first shared my story
of being a daughter of undocumented parents
and the fact that they were deported.
I mean, before that I hadn't done much research on it.
I wasn't looking for other people
who had experienced that because I was ashamed.
And so, through the power of story and continuing to talk
about this, even though it's uncomfortable,
you learn that other people start becoming more comfortable
with sharing their experiences and it's a powerful thing.
I mean, I've grown so much
since I've shared my story in 2016.
Up until now.
I see the changes that have been made
in our community with so many people
sharing their opinions and how they feel about the world
and the state of our country.
And what's going on.
I no longer feel that my opinions don't matter
because other people are giving power to what they feel.
- And I look across this room and I see
so many faces of people who have the opportunity
to connect with one another in really meaningful ways.
I want you to talk about the importance
of both finding mentors
and actually acting as a mentor.
- Well,
it's been important to me
because, like I said, I don't think I would be here
without seeing the success of others
who look like me.
I think I've always tried
to look for that around me.
It's like, who here has done what I wanna do
and how can I also do that?
But now with my own experience.
And what if we get together
and share those experiences together?
What kind of work can we do?
And I found so much power in that,
in lending myself for that and also accepting that.
Accepting help and giving help are two different things.
But they have to be done simultaneously.
- How did you connect with people who could
kind of guide you on the path you wanted to take?
- Honestly, by being honest.
Sometimes it's as simple as that, is by being honest.
And that's all I've ever wanted to do, is tell the truth.
That's all I've ever wanted from someone,
is to tell me the truth.
I didn't find that as a child.
I was constantly being hid from reality
or being lied to because I couldn't understand
what was going on.
Or simply because I couldn't be honest with others.
And so, I found that once I was honest,
people are attracted to that
because people want honesty in their lives as well.
And I think that in a world where we're just constantly
being fed what is convenient, what people wanna tell you
so that you can go either this direction or that direction
we're craving for just the truth.
And so, I'm interested in history.
I'm interested in the facts
so that we can learn from those things and move forward.
- When you think about the path your life has taken
and you think about people who are
following their own paths of advocacy
and activism, what advice would you have?
- It's not easy.
We know this to be true.
I used to go to bed,
I used to go to bed so angry.
And I didn't understand why.
I used to go to bed so sad and I didn't know why
and it was because I felt helpless.
Because even if I tried to care or understand
one issue there was always a million other issues
that needed to be tended to, that needed to be understood,
that needed to be helped.
And I think that the minute that I realized
that I could be an agent of change,
that I could do everything in my power
to change the world.
And, again, it's everything in your power,
so, whatever you can do that day,
that that is enough.
And it reminds me of three things that
I've used for my life.
And those are: resilience,
respect and revision.
And resilience because I know that there
are a million roadblocks that are gonna keep me down.
I mean, we know that
things are set up to be very hard
and every day you're gonna experience that.
You're gonna get kicked, you're gonna be told no.
People are gonna, there's gonna be all these obstructions
and you have to understand that those are there.
And you have to dust yourself up, off I mean, not up
because you don't want any more dust.
(audience laughing)
But you dust yourself off and you try and try again.
So, now I know that this is going to happen.
But I'm gonna keep on trying because there are times
where you grow,
you succeed,
you get a yes.
But you have to be and you have to be strong.
Respect, I wanna approach everything with respect
because I want respect.
I wanna understand that people have histories.
That I have a history.
And we have to understand that people come
with all sorts of problems,
mental health issues, trauma that they're dealing with.
And also trauma from generations and generations ago.
What are ancestors have had to deal with,
why the system is the way it is.
And then revision because this is a process.
And we're not gonna wake up tomorrow and know the answer.
We have to try and fail and grow and experience.
And so, the work isn't ever done.
And so, that gives me a lot of strength to get up
the next day and try again to try to be better.
- One of the things I've taken away from talking
to you over the last couple of days is that
in connecting your personal story
to the work you've chosen to do as an immigration advocate
you've actually found some healing in that process.
- Oh, that, yeah.
I selfishly, yes.
I've found healing.
And that's why I tell people all the time, I'm like,
no, you gotta care about others.
It's the only way you're gonna heal.
It's the only way you're gonna grow.
You know, before I started doing this work
it was hard to talk to my family, you know.
Our family was,
was broken.
And it was tough to face that.
And since I decided to share my experience with others
and try to help out in a larger conversation,
my personal life has improved significantly.
- Well, Diane it's been a pleasure.
Diane Guerrero.
(audience clapping) - Thank you.
(upbeat modern jazz music)